Report: Pirates Not Getting Beltran

Pittsburgh (KDKA)- The talk of Carlos Beltran becoming a Pittsburgh Pirate appears to be dead.

ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the Pirates and Cleveland Indians are out of the Beltran sweepstakes.

The Giants, Phillies and Braves appear to be the leaders in the Beltran sweepstakes.

Also, Beltran told Newsday’s David Lennon that he would prefer to stay in the National League. The outfielder prefers not to DH more than once per week and will consider a team’s pitching staff before accepting a deal.

Beltran’s full no-trade clause will likely force the Mets to have a few deals lined up days prior to July 31 so that they can move on from one proposal to another should Beltran veto one, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.

UPDATE (3:04 PM):
ESPN.com’s Buster Olney believes that the Braves are the frontrunners for Carlos Beltran right now thanks to their assortment of pitching prospects, such as left-hander Mike Minor.